Yesterday, South Dakotans for Medical Marijuana (SDMM) began blanketing the South Dakota airwaves with this TV ad -- http://www.sdmedicalmarijuana.org/ads -- which urges voters to support the medical marijuana initiative that will be on the South Dakota ballot on November 7. The commercial -- which you can watch for yourself at http://www.sdmedicalmarijuana.org/ads -- features South Dakota resident and medical marijuana patient Valerie Hannah, who was exposed to nerve gas while serving as a combat medic in the Gulf War. As a result, she suffers from a degenerative illness that causes constant deep-muscle and neurological pain, and she uses medical marijuana to alleviate her symptoms.
Hannah states, "I don't regret serving my country. But it should not be a crime to treat my pain and suffering."
If passed by a majority of voters, the South Dakota initiative would protect patients from the threat of arrest and jail for using medical marijuana with their doctors' approval. At the end of May, a coalition of activists qualified the measure for the ballot by collecting over 24,000 petition signatures, and at the end of August, SDMM won a court case to beat back an attempt by the state attorney general to place biased and inaccurate language in voter guides and on the ballot.
The widespread support among South Dakotans for safe and legal access to medical marijuana shows how mainstream the issue has become: A 2002 Lucas Organization poll found that 64% of South Dakota residents support allowing seriously ill patients to use marijuana if recommended by a doctor.
Eight out of eight statewide ballot initiatives to make medical marijuana legal have passed since 1996. (And an additional three states have passed similar laws via their legislatures.) Let's not risk seeing South Dakota become the first state to vote to continue arresting medical marijuana patients.
Thank you in advance for anything you can give at http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M720771347853968236506365&af=y to help.
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.
P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.5 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2006. This means that your donation today at http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M720771607853968236506365&af=y will be doubled.